This too shall pass

Last night CR and I completed our last long run before the half marathon next week. We met on the towpath and ran an out and back of 12 miles. It is finally warmed up and was gorgeous weather! Normally we do our long run on Saturday morning but I had a prior commitment to volunteer on Saturday at 10:30 so we would have to start running at 6:30 or 7 AM for me to have time to shower and get ready afterwards. I didn't want to run that early and didn't want to go to the gym yesterday since it is so pretty outside, so we decided to get our long run over with. I had a great run once I got going. I love running the towpath...it's soft, flat and there is water on both sides of you, a unique path. After about 5 miles into the run, I was running on my own and this gave me to think and reflect.

As of late, one of my mantras while I run has been "this too shall pass". This phrase is especially useful when that little nagging voice starts putting the idea to stop running in my mind. This phrase is especially poignant to me this week. Thirty-three students and professors lost their lives on Virgina Tech's campus this week. As the rest of the nation, this has had a deep impact on me. Virginia Tech was my second choice for Ph.D. school and many of my friends earned their grad degrees there. I have only visited there one weekend but it's a special place. I had never heard of VT before thinking about grad school. Then suddenly I knew all about it...what a great engineering school it is, how beautiful Blacksburg is, how nice everyone is. The school is quite impressive in and of itself and it's accomplishments, however it is unassuming and humble...reminds me of some engineers I know. Now it has been called to everyone's attention and as a campus has risen to the occasion.

This past Monday I was at home in the afternoon (which is quite rare) because our power was out at work. That's when I heard the news and became enthralled. Once I discovered the magnitude of what happened, the first thing I did was go for a run. It was overcast, rainy and high winds...not good conditions. I went anyways, it's all I wanted to do. I ran for about an hour around McLean and I cried at times, too. I felt better afterwards...I always do feel better after a run.

On Tuesday evening I was at my friends' house taking care of their dogs and I was sitting in their living room while the dogs were outside eating. At the house across the street, I saw a sports car pull up and a young man got out, a college-aged young man. He went to the trunk and unloaded a large duffle bag and threw some other bags on his shoulders, maybe a laptop bag. It hit me, he had just arrived home from VT. I watched him as he gathered his bags from his car and walked up the yard to the front door, the door opened and he disappeared inside and the door closed. I pictured his mom or dad (whoever opened that door for him) reaching out for him, pulling him in, and hugging him in a way they never have before...so glad just to see him and grateful to hold him. I don't know exactly what happened once he passed through that door, hell, I don't even know if he is actually a VT student. But at that point, in my mind, he is and he is being hugged and loved. As I left that night in my car, I looked at his car and sure enough he had a VT license plate and parking permit.

Yesterday during my long run the people affected by this tragedy came and went through my mind. As I got in the shower last night after my run, the gunman's sister came to my mind and my thoughts lingered on her for a while. She is probably my age or a bit younger. She works in DC, went to Princeton and I believe lives at home. She probably has a very good life and loves her home and family...I mean she is living at home with her parents! I can't imagine what she's going through. I thought about the fact that this will follow her around for the rest of her life. She may always have to wonder what someone may say or do to her simply because of whose sister she is. Didn't he think of her before he set these events into motion? No, he didn't...just like he didn't think of anyone else OR maybe that is all he thought of, everyone else and how much better he thinks they are or their lives are than his... and along with his illness, it consumed him.

The victim's families appear to be so strong. One day while I was in the gym, they showed the pictures of four girls from this area that were killed. I stared at the TV and said how beautiful they are. Once again a horrible event has brought this nation closer together and made me realize, once again, that anything can happen and life never ceases to surprise me.

I am glad I can run to comfort me.

Miss me?

Holy moly, it's been a while....over two months. A lot has happened and then again a lot is still the same. I am still running, I am still writing my dissertation, I am still doing a lot of the same things. I have run two races this Spring. The first was the St. Patrick's 8K with HW. My time was 45:16, an improvement over last year and my last 5 miler back in November. I was hoping to break 45 minutes but I stayed out late the night before and the wind was a bit harsh on race morning. On April 1, a group of us ran the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler. The race went really well, better than I could have imagined. It was overcast and cool and the rain held off. We started out slow and each mile got faster (negative splits). CR and I ran together right up until the very end. I finished in 1:34:28. I am proud of my time...9:27 minutes/mile pace. Secretly, though, I was hoping to do 9:15 min/mile but I don't think I am there yet. I am most proud of my girlfriends, especially MP. This was her day. She had not trained due to some leg problems. However, she still showed up (which I respected) to race and not only started, but finished and RAN THE WHOLE WAY! I have always known she is determined and can do anything she sets her mind to. She truly was an inspiration to me that day. HW trained for this race, she set her goal a long time ago before Christmas. Her discipline was admirable especially during times when her life was very stressful with papers due, etc. She always meets her specified deadline and I respect that so much. CR has been my running buddy since the beginning. This girl amazes me in her passion for not only running, but life. She is always wanting to improve and craves learning more about running, eating healthy, etc. I thought I was the only one that thirsted for knowledge like that and spent my lunch hour scouring the internet for running articles, etc. but she gives me a run for my money! I am so blessed to have these women in my life. They are my best friends in DC and are my family away from home.

Ok, enough sappy stuff...I ran about 5 miles today on the treadmill. Did a bit of a tempo run where I increased my speed until about 30 minutes in the run and then decreased until the end. Towards the end it was tough to keep going, but I am glad to say I logged the miles. I am nearing the end of my training program, the half-marathon is less than three weeks away. I am looking foward to it, but most of all because my mom is walking and brother is running in it. I keep saying that after this, I will stop running so much and do something different. I already wonder if I will truly do that. This past weekend, I ran 11 miles on Sat. morning with CR. We ran Mt. Vernon and it had snowed the night before. It was cold but one of my best runs. My body felt so good and I realized that I LOVE running (ok, well, maybe I should be calling it jogging)....I love every dimension of it.